PhD Program

The LSU School of Social Work believes that doctoral education in Social Work must
involve first and foremost a passionate commitment to learning, and a specific commitment
to the pursuit of new knowledge that can improve the lives of our client populations. The
PhD Program prepares the next generation of social work educators, researchers, administrators,
and policy-makers to contribute to the creation of the knowledge base of our profession.

Research

We prepare students above all else to conduct empirical research targeted at the pressing
needs of our client populations and service systems. Social work practitioners must
have the highest quality, up-to-date knowledge to strengthen the evidence base of
their work, and it is the job of doctoral-trained social workers to provide this.
The major educational outcomes for our doctoral students are:

To learn about the historical and contemporary contexts of social work research, focusing
on the nature of research questions posed and the methods used to address these

To learn to critically analyze the quality and merits of social work research in a
variety of substantive areas

To produce original research relevant to the field of social work, including the framing
of research questions, synthesis of the existing relevant literature, the use of appropriate
methods to investigate answers to research questions, and the analysis, synthesis,
and interpretation of data

To translate learning to practice, especially through preparation for teaching beginning
social work professionals.

LSU is home to the only independent social work doctoral program in Louisiana. It
is an interdisciplinary degree in which students are expected to explore diverse areas
and traditions of inquiry and use a variety of research methods, all the while keeping
a sharp focus on the need for information to inform social work practice. It is important
to note that ours is not an advanced clinical program. The course of study in our
doctoral program is completely oriented toward mastering the skills needed to design
and conduct empirical social work research. Our students work very closely with faculty
mentors, oftentimes directly with them on their on-going research. We have a diverse
student body that includes students from several foreign countries and we encourage
international applications.

Our faculty is well-equipped to effectively mentor doctoral student research. Major
areas of research and scholarship expertise that our current faculty mentors provide
our doctoral students include:

Child welfare/child maltreatment

Children’s attachments to caregivers

Substance use & interventions

Juvenile justice

School truancy

Welfare/family support-related policies

The personal and social circumstances of welfare-receiving families

Social capital and poverty

Vulnerable families

High-risk youth

Gay and lesbian youth

Gerontology

Intimate partner violence

Behavioral health & interventions

International and comparative social welfare and social development.

It is a good time to pursue a doctoral degree in Social Work. The profession increasingly
demands evidence-based knowledge and expertise in research and evaluation. Recently,
the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work, a national/international
consortium of Social Work Ph.D. Program Directors, completed a national study that
found that Social Work Programs at virtually all levels in the U.S. face a tremendous
shortage of doctoral-trained academicians in the coming years to fill the ranks of
the social work programs in our colleges and universities. We need more social workers
who are passionate about pursuing the answers to important questions affecting our
client populations and eager to take on the challenges to improving social work practice
and the well-being of our clients.

Program Overview

Doctoral studies are characterized by three major phases of work: coursework (completion
of a minimum of 39 credit hours of coursework); the general exam (an intense period
of self-guided study and examination directed by a faculty committee), and the dissertation
(the student’s original research, guided by a primary mentor and two other faculty
committee members). It is expected that the period of study for the doctoral degree
in social work will be three to five years, but not exceeding seven.

Admission Requirements

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with typical liberal
arts, social sciences, introductory statistics, and human biology courses

An acceptable grade-point average in undergraduate course work (as evaluated by the
School of Social Work and the Graduate School)

A masters degree in social work from a CSWE accredited program or a closely related
discipline. Preference will be given to applicants with the MSW. Students without
the MSW will be required to enroll in at least 9 hours of social work courses including
SW 7004 Human Diversity & Oppression plus two additional electives. Please contact
the PhD Director for further information.

A GPA in graduate studies of at least 3.00

Acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), traditionally at least 1000 combined
on the verbal and quantitative sections (old test) and approximately 297 (new test)

Completion of a graduate introductory statistics course with a grade of “B” or better

Completion of a graduate introductory research course with a grade of “B” or better

Other materials as required in the application instructions

How to Apply

Application to the PhD Program in Social Work for prospective new students consists
of two separate applications, an online application to the LSU Graduate School and
one to the School of Social Work. Current LSU students submit the School of Social
Work application and Request for Change of Department form to the School of Social
Work. Applications received before February 1 will receive priority in admissions
decisions. Applications received after March 1 will be considered on a space-available
basis.